Sunday, April 15, 2012

Pinterest has been a dangerouswonderful source of ideas for me since I first logged on that faithful day! A website full of ideas is a bad thing for me because I have so many ideas of my own, and I usually end up combining my ideas with those of pinterest, which makes for one very busy mommy!

Today, I woke up with my creative juices flowing. We skipped "real" church since Cole had drill and Ava is getting over an ear infection. After listening to our "home church" podcast (Alistair Begg, for anyone interested), Ava and I went to a few shops right as they opened (Hancocks, Lowes, and Michael's) and got our supplies for the three projects I had on my list to accomplish today.

I didn't take the time to do the how to pictures, but here are some before and after's of what I did today!

PROJECT ONE: INTERCHANGEABLE GALLERY WALL:

Before. It has always bothered me that the alarm pad, garage door opener, and light switches were all clustered together, and left no room to center a picture.

After. I still have to add pictures. But I bought several different wooden plaques at Michael's. I painted and then distressed them, and added the clips (which are actually magnetic clips hot glued on). We can hang pictures here and change them out often. I have wanted to do this for a while, and I am so excited that I finally did it, and that it makes this wall look much less sad!

PROJECT TWO: NEW WINDOW TREATMENTS FOR THE EATING AREA﻿﻿

Before. Ava kept playing with these in her highchair, and the knots were always coming loose.

Before. Another angle. I liked that they let light in, but they never felt really finished to me.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

(In case you were wondering, I am taking a break from Angel Word this week. Sometimes, a momma needs to think about something else for a change!)

When I was posting the pictures of our dining room yesterday, I realized that I haven't done a house "AFTER" tour on my blog. At least not one I can find. So I decided that I would do one today! My house was picked up because we had company last night, and therapy wasn't until after lunch, so I got up early and took some pictures after Cole left for work. I don't know about you, but I am really nosey and LOVE to see pictures of other people's homes. So I hope you enjoy taking a peek into our home today!

First, let's start with the master bedroom and bathroom....

Here is our bedroom, as seen from the doorway. (Sorry- I made the bed in a hurry!)

Bedroom from the bathroom door. Our bedroom isn't a huge master, but it is perfect for the way we live.

Across from the bed is the dresser. We have a mirror that attaches to it, but I was a sweet wife and told Cole we could put the tv up there instead. Truth is, I like it too! Cole has something hooked to the tv- normally all the cords are hidden!

Cole's Iraq map still hangs in our bedroom like it did at our old house.

This was in our old living room. Now it is on my side of the bed. It is too small for the wall and ceiling height, so I want to beef it up with some candle sconces or something.

Here is our master bathroom. We still have a lot of updates we want to do in here. But for now, it is pretty much just like it was when we moved in. :( I am trying to be patient- the longer I wait, the more money I will have to put into it! Hello, heated floors! :)

Other side of the bathroom. I will spare you the water closet (aka toilet room) picture!

And while we are looking at bathrooms, here is the hall bath!

This is how it looks typically.

And this is how it looks when we have guests over.

Vanity area. I love that it is a nice big room with a lot of counter space! So all of our kids can be in there getting ready for school someday!

This is across from the vanity. I love that picture of Ava!

On the vanity. I love this frame (thank you HobLob!).

And now lets look at the Living Room...

I like using photos as art, but this is an actual painting that my mom's cousin Sherry did! I love it! She did a matching one that is a little boy. My sister (who has all boys) has it, and I have this one. It is on the wall behind the love seat.

Looking in from the hallway.

Cross wall has survived Ava so far, and looks the same as it did when I first put it up.

This house is so much brighter than our old one. We have a lot of windows here, and I love it! And I still love my painted curtains!

Looking in from the dining room.

Several people have asked me about the fireplace tile, so here is a closeup picture. It is from Lowes in-stock selection.

Fireplace (sorry the picture is off centered. I am a horrid photographer!)

Left side of the built ins.

Right side of the built ins.

Looking in from the eating area/kitchen.

And now the heart of the home (and one of my favorites), the kitchen!

Roosters for the French Country feel...

More roosters...

My pinterest copied sign above the door to the pantry.

Range area.

Sink area.

Looking in from the dining room.

Bar area, looking in from the living room.

Standing in our bedroom doorway. I thought I would hate having the bedroom right off the kitchen, but the door is in a little nook and it is actually really nice! We are away from all of the other bedrooms, and close to the kitchen for coffee and midnight snacks!

Eating area from the right.

Eating area from the left (living room).That doorway there in the background is the entry into our bedroom.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

I love my dining room/entry way. It is probably the least used room in our home, maybe next to the rarely used guest room. But it is the first room that greets you as you enter our home, and so I have been slowly transforming it into the room that I want it to be. It still has a long way to go (hence why I called this post "Then and Now" instead of "Before and After"), but I am pleased with the direction we are headed and I think after some added mouldings and maybe a paint color change, I can call it DONE!

First, lets take a look back at what the room looked like before we moved in...

Beautiful, site finished floors were a big selling feature. And the color is neutral. But the curtains were very 90s chic (and dusty! Blah!) and the big, brass chandler had.to.go.

This was the only picture I had of the entryway before we moved in. But as you can see, the window above the door was covered in yet another dusty 90s relic.

Here is how it looked last summer...

This was the entry way as it looked last summer, shortly after we moved in. The side table was too narrow and short. It just wasn't right for the space. Sadly, it had to go. I hated that because I loved the color!

The rug in the entry way was from our office at our old house. I was happy that I could use it here, because I just love jute rugs! Plus, it's texture makes a great entry way rug, and I like that it gives a casual feel to our home as soon as you step in. I want our house to be comfortable for everyone. It is, after all, a HOME!

Here is the dining room as it was last summer. The mirror that looked so BIG in our old dining room was dwarfed in here! We hadn't replaced the light fixture yet, and the curtains, also from our old house, had a lot of reds and rusts, colors that I really wanted to get away from in this room.

Our TV armoire from the old house now serves as a bar/drink station in our new house, and it has worked AWESOME!

Still one of my favorite pieces. But it looked a little sad over here in the corner all alone.

One last look...

And now...

Here is the dining room now, looking in from the kitchen entrance.

Looking into the dining room, from the living room entrance. I added the sconces to each side of the mirror, and I think it looks much more in scale.

Ava's antique dining chair lives here, and sometimes my ice bucket for entertaining does too. The rug is one of my favorite Home Goods finds EVER! It is a thin, low pile, and super soft! Plus, it hides dirt really well- perfect for under a dining room table!

I don't have a previous picture of this wall, but my little secretary that I painted lives here (and this picture also gives you a little bit of an idea of our home's layout). It's the perfect wall for it, and credit goes to my sister for dropping it off at my door and telling me where to put it! :)

The dresser I painted (Annie Sloan Duck Egg Blue) goes perfectly here. I knew I wanted to use a dresser to have more storage for serving dishes, and it was really hard finding one that wasn't too long. But I think it was worth the wait!

I love the inside of the door painted. And it is so much brighter in here without the shade over the top window.

I dressed this corner up with a lamp (FREE- Stolen from my aunt's goodwill pile- thank you Aunt Paula!) and a few fun accessories. You can see the curtains have been changed too...

This is the best picture I got of the curtains- sorry. But I just love the fabric (from Hancock's). It is a tan on white large floral print with blue birds here and there. I love that it perfectly coordinates with the rug without being too "matchy."

My current centerpiece is two large manzanita trees that I used for a baby shower (they are much more brown and much less red in real life). I change my mind on the centerpiece all the time. But I am kinda liking the look. And because they are in two vases, I can put something seasonal in the center and have them on either side if I want. I like options. :)

One last look.

So that is my dining room as it is now. I really want to add some mouldings and do a little painting this summer. We will see what the hubs says. Probably the same thing he says about all of the projects I undertake: "I don't know why you're asking me. You are going to do it anyway..." Oh, he knows me so well! HAHA!